Project
by KierstynArete
Summary: Without her, he was lost. With her, everything went to hell. The Director's thoughts based on the beginning of Episode 19 of Season 10.


Agent Texas: the legend, the marvel, the warrior.

Without her, Project Freelancer would have no purpose.

She was the true creator of the Project.

He had spent his life searching for a way to bring Allison back. His love for her motivated his every move, his every breath. Losing her so quickly had broken his heart but at the same time awakened a part of his mind he didn't know existed-pure determination. There was a way he could bring her back, but doing so would only be possible through the use of artificial intelligence.

She wouldn't be his Allison, but she would be alive.

The process had taken him years to discover. Posing as an ally of the military was a great way to get access to resources unavailable to the common scientist. Of course he was researching the advantages an AI integrated into the suit of a soldier would have to their performance; of course the request for the military's top agents was purely to strengthen the resistance against the invading aliens.

Of course he wasn't ever planning on doing anything illegal.

When they had arrived, he gave them each a codename-a state. They were all the finest warriors-skilled in many ways. However, there would come a day when his experiments would cause them to die, and he didn't want to know their names when that happened; it would make the loss easier. He was detached from them-an aloof figure they simply called, 'Sir,'.

Texas was never used, too many memories were invested within that state. Texas reminded him of her...

The training was rigorous, why, he never told them. They were simply under the impression they were being trained for high risk operations meant to end the war.

The missions _were_ high risk but not necessarily against the prominent galactic threat.

Scanning his brain to make an AI was an uncomplicated enough of a process. Synthesizing an AI out of the scan was a bit more complex. As far as the director knew, nothing of the sort had ever been attempted. As far as his research was concerned, he had isolated the perfect method to create a synthetic life form out of a human mind. He wanted to practice it on himself before attempting to bring Allison back.

Alpha had been a surprise.

Not only had his first attempt at creating a fully functioning AI worked, it had surpassed his expectations. The Alpha contained all his knowledge but presented a distinctively different personality. The director's predictions had been that he and the AI based on him would be identical. However, AI think for themselves, and the Alpha was his own person.

Created the day after the Alpha, without the knowledge or permission of anyone, was Beta.

Allison...

Her presence in his mind had been too strong during the brain scanning process. She was a collection of the many memories he had of her. Having both the Alpha and Beta together in one area in the initial stages of their creation sparked his curiosity.

They appeared to be in love.

It didn't seem possible for collections of advanced coding to display affection towards one another. He had to separate them; he had to make sure he and the counselor were the only ones who knew about the Alpha.

The inception of Beta had given him an idea. He could harvest fragments from the Alpha to seemingly succeed in his promise to the UNSC.

He programmed Beta to forget everything pertaining to the Alpha. The memories could, of course, be restored through the proper protocols in the right situation, but the chances of that happening were slim.

At least he thought.

All he left Beta with was the fact that she was an amazing soldier-nearly unbeatable. As far as she knew, she was recruited for the Project straight out of basic training. All memories before that were residual, from Allison.

She didn't know about the Alpha; she was left with a lingering love for another that would only serve to confuse her.

He made her 'human' form, swathed her in her ominous black armor, and dubbed her Agent Texas.

She made quite an impression on the Project. Her skills were unmatched and caused animosity between a few of the agents. The best of the best, with their egos as big as the galaxy, do not appreciate being topped by a mere rookie.

Little did he know the chain of dark tidings he had set in motion with the addition of Texas to Project Freelancer. His irrationality served to lead the Project on a steep road to its end, not to the glorious picture he had formed in his mind over the years.

And now, she was gone-turned rogue. He knew why; she had somehow triggered the memories he had hid so delicately in her mind. She must know how he used her name to torture the Alpha, how he had tried to shield her from the truth for his own selfish purposes. She would now be thinking of a way to rescue the Alpha and destroy the Project forever.

He expected nothing less from her.

Such defiance reminded him deeply of his Allison. She would've never stood still if she knew someone she loved was being tortured. Texas believed herself to be running away from the woman she was based on, but her actions only brought her closer to the memories in his mind. AI or not, the personalities of the two women coincided almost exactly.

So when the alert was sounded at base, he could only watch the red lights flash throughout the room with a sense of dread in his chest.

He knew it wasn't the resistance. They didn't have the resources to break into the Mother of Invention.

No, it was Texas, here to reclaim what was rightfully hers. Her innate resilience would get her far in this battle. If she wanted the Alpha, she would do everything in her power to get the Alpha.

Her capabilities frightened him.

Turning to Carolina, the one agent that stood any chance of beating her, he knew what had to be done.


End file.
